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Potential 2013 Dallas Cowboys: Norv Turner

January 7th, 2013 at 10:25 AM By Nick Sharp

Just like every single Dallas Cowboy fan in the world, Jerry Jones wasn't happy how the 2012 season ended. The difference of course is that when Jerry Jones isn't happy, things start to change. Jerry vocalized very clearly that changes are coming. Problem is, nobody is quite sure what he's talking about.

"I can tell you change is necessary at 8-8. Change is in order when you spend the two seasons in a row down to the last games and lose them, so we’re going to have to have changes."

First off, hard to argue with that. I think we all believe that the trajectory of this team is pointing in a better direction than this time last year, but the results were still not what we wanted. He made clear that the change won't be coming at Quarterback, so the questions remains: where are they going to happen?Jason Garrett survived "Black Monday", so it likely won't be his position either.

But what about the coordinator positions? Rob Ryan, oft-considered a head coaching candidate, seems like he'll be back next year. He took an injury ravaged unit and had them competing at a serviceable rate late in the year. So that leaves us with last years addition to the coaching staff, Bill Callahan. Bill has been a respected coach for a long time in this league, but his impact was seemingly negligible. Garrett was still the one calling plays, he never truly got the O-line to a respectable point, and the offense all-around struggled for 75% of the season. Could he be the change Jerry so wistfully speaks of?

Maybe. A hot tid-bit among Cowboys fans these days is the notion of bringing back former San Diego Head Coach and Dallas Cowboy Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner. Many assume that Garrett would swallow his pride and let Turner take over play-calling duties, a change that looks all but certain heading into 2013. This is something we here at DC101 support strongly. Less play calling would hopefully mean paying more dutiful attention to things like clock and game management. Garrett can take more of the hands-off approach and, in doing so, maybe take some of the direct pressure off of himself. Michael Irvin, somehow who should have some authority on the subject, also agrees (as per The Dan Patrick Show):

“There are some things in process that he has to learn like managing games late, making sure he’s playing better situational football in the end and that’s not a slight, that’s a reality. You have to learn and grow as you go. That’s the process of life. I would love to see Jason tighten up on those little things at the end of the game and play better situational football at the end of the game. I would love to see him go and get Norv Turner as his offensive coordinator so he can focus on those kinds of things."

So what about Norv? Is he a good fit? Sure seems like it. He was the man behind the curtains when "The Triplets" were dominating the NFL and hoisting Lombardi Trophies. in 2013, the team seems poised to have its closest fit at all 3 positions to replicating those 3 Hall-of-Famers than they have since Irvin, Smith, and Aikman left. Demarco Murray, Dez Bryant, and Tony Romo are all top-tier players that can dominate games at any given moment. Turner has also been having a decent amount of recent success. While the Chargers haven't succeeded too well, their offense has been more than acceptable. They've had the #1 (2010) and #6 (2011) rushing attacks in the NFL, along with Phillip Rivers posting 4000+ yards during those seasons.

It is easy to understand why Jerry would go after Norv. During his 3 season as OC, the Cowboys finished with a 42-13 record. He is also credited with mentoring Troy Aikman's game to a Hall-of-Fame level, something desperately needed by Tony Romo. And, ahem, they also won 2 Super Bowls.

Ultimately, it will be up to Jason Garrett to sacrifice a bit of his ego to bring in Norv Turner. Garrett has been solely responsible for this offense for 6 years now. Is he willing to let his baby go into the hands of another man? For the Dallas Cowboys sake, we think yes, and we also think Jerry will make the move.